


You Knew.

by radioactivebunny



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Canon Universe, Canonical Character Death, Extended Scene, IT Chapter Two Spoilers, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Movie: IT Chapter Two (2019), Not A Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 15:43:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21412636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radioactivebunny/pseuds/radioactivebunny
Summary: Basically an extension of the scene where the Losers escape Pennywise's layer as adults and Richie confronts Bev about her foresight of Eddie dying.
Relationships: Implied Reddie
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	You Knew.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea in my head since seeing the movie and I just really wanted to see how the scene would have played out if it were extended. Mostly just indulging in my need for the close trust between Richie and Bev to be put to the test.

SPLASH

A large chunk of cement cracked off of the ceiling and plummeted into the water just a few yards away from the losers as they made their rushed exit from Pennywise’s layer. 

Kicking and screaming, Richie tugged against whoever was pulling him along. He was too focused on escaping their grasp to notice whose arm was bruising his midsection. Flailing his arms in every direction, Richie tried his goddamn hardest to get a grip on anything; a nearby ledge, a sturdy foothold, reality. But it was no use. Whenever he thought he could break free, someone else would grab his wrist and tug him further away from the one person he couldn’t leave without. 

The losers managed to get themselves and a defiant Richie out of the sewers and out of the Neibolt house to the safety of the street. 

The wooden panels of the ancient house rumbled and rattled as the ground beneath it began to crumble. It was falling apart. Everything was breaking down. The foundation of the house lurched and sank below the dusty surface, pulling the rest of the weak house down with it and tearing a large gash in the earth. Dust clouds shot up from the sinkhole and blurred the image of where the house once stood. 

The dust collected on Richie’s glasses and mixed with the moisture from the sewers, creating a muddy film that blurred his vision. Though he was already having a hard time seeing through the river that left streaks down his face, so it didn’t make much of a difference. He heaved and gasped with the fatigue of fighting, but pushed firmly against Ben and Mike, who happened to be the ones grappling him at that moment, giving one last attempt before letting his weak muscles get the better of him. 

Slowly, as the two men noticed that Richie’s protests were weakening, Ben and Mike released their clenched fingers. Their arms dropped to their sides, but both of their gazes still held on Richie.

It was silent for a moment.

Richie’s tears slowed. His shoulders slumped, and his eyes trained on the hole where the house used to be. His ragged breath the only perceivable movement from him. 

The losers glanced around at each other, uncertain whether they should comfort Richie or to let him have a moment to process. They had only a few seconds of uncertainty before he spoke.

“You knew.”

His voice was small and fragile. Raspy from his protests and wobbly with emotion. 

"What?” Bill asked, not sure that Richie had even said anything.

Richie turned and lunged towards Beverly. Bill and Ben both instinctively grabbed Richie again, putting themselves physically between him and Bev. 

“YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING!” Richie screamed, using any and all of his leftover energy to fight for his freedom once again. “YOU KNEW THAT HE WAS GOING TO DIE AND YOU LET HIM!”

Bev’s hands raised to cover her mouth as her eyes began to water.

“You saw it, Bev! You saw his death and didn’t think to tell me? To tell us?!”

“Richie stop!” Bill grunted, fighting against Richie’s torso.

“No, Bill! She knew!” Richie’s voice cracked on 'knew' and Bill could see now that Richie’s tears had amped back up. He had softened lightly when his eyes met Bill’s but quickly returned his focus to Bev when his face felt hot again.

“If you had just warned us, I could’ve saved him! I could’ve- I could’ve pulled him away or-or-or shoved him or something! Jesus, Bev I could’ve-” but a sob cut him off. He ripped his gaze away from her and down to the floor.

“Richie, I-” Bev tried through her fingers. 

Richie bit one of his knuckles and paced in the opposite direction. Ben and Bill both let him go, but remained a barrier. 

Richie kicked the dirt with his toe and threw his arms over his head. He curled in on himself and screamed, letting every bit of air out of his lungs until his body shook. “God DAMMIT, BEV!” he stood and faced Beverly once more, challenging her for a response.

“I couldn’t, Richie!” Bev yelled, “I just couldn’t!”

“Why not, Bev? Huh? I thought losers were supposed to stick together, not keep life-risking secrets!” Richie spat. 

“You don’t understand!”

“Oh yeah? What am I not understanding? That-That Eddie would’ve died no matter what? ‘Cause there’s no way in hell that’s true. If I had known-”

Bev pushed through Ben and Bill, “If you had known, we all would’ve died.” 

She stood to her full height within an arm’s reach of Richie. She made a point of broadening her shoulders to counteract the number of tears that spilled down her neck. 

“I saw everything, Rich. I saw what would’ve happened if I told you and you both died. We all did. You tried to save him and IT got you...And after seeing your body, Eddie froze and IT got him too. The rest of us didn’t stand a chance.” Bev sobbed, her shoulders jerked but refused to slacken.

It was Richie who softened. His chest caved in on itself as his breath was taken from him. More tears spilled down from behind his glasses.

“In every possibility that I warned you, we lost.” 

Everyone stood silent for a moment. They simultaneously understood what Bev really meant by that. By even telling the losers that she had foreseen their deaths at all, she had sealed Stan and Eddie’s fate. Stan’s when they were kids and Eddie’s just a few hours ago at the Inn.

For the third time in his life, Richie was speechless. He was still upset at Beverly for withholding that information, but at the same time, he knew that she was doing her best. Richie swiped his arm across his cheek and wrapped Bev in a hug. She quickly tangled her arms around him and they stood crying together for a few seconds before Mike, Ben, and Bill joined in on the embrace. 

They stood there, wrapped in each other’s comfort for a long while. Each too afraid to let go. And for the first time in 27 years, they felt truly safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! This is my first official post on Archive and I'm still pretty self-conscious about my writing, but I have a bigger College AU fic in the works, so consider this a practice run! Hope you enjoyed it~ Feel free to leave comments 'n kudos to lemme know what you thought <3


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